Yesterday, Acting U.S. Commerce Secretary Rebecca
Blank traveled to Chicago, Illinois to deliver remarks
at the International Manufacturing Technology
Show (IMTS), hosted by the Association for Manufacturing Technology. Acting
Secretary Blank discussed the importance of manufacturing to boosting U.S.
economic growth, job creation and exports and highlighted the administration's
continuing efforts to build things here and sell them everywhere.

Blank noted that President Obama has been committed to U.S.
manufacturing since his very first day in office, and shared three key
facts that show manufacturing is making a comeback. First, after a decade when America
lost six million manufacturing jobs, we’ve now added more than a half million
back since January 2010. These are good-paying jobs that strengthen economic
security for the middle class. Second, our manufacturing output is up 20
percent since 2009–with big growth in areas like cars and car parts. Third,
manufactured exports have increased in nearly all industry categories, jumping
over 36 percent from 2009 to 2011.

After finishing her remarks, Blank toured the floor
exhibits. She stopped by the Local Motors
exhibition to hear about their crowd-sourced car. The Defense Advance Research Project Agency
challenged Local Motors, a small company based in Chandler, Arizona to design a
vehicle in four weeks and build it in three months. To meet this deadline Local Motors
crowd-sourced the vehicle design, selected one of the over 162 high-quality
designs that came in and then built it ahead of schedule.

Acting Secretary Blank departed IMTS and traveled to Cree-Racine in Racine,
Wisconsin, a local manufacturer of energy-efficient LED lights. They recently
formed a partnership with a distributor in India and last year won the President’s E-Award for their success
in increasing exports. Because of that success, they’re expanding their
facility and creating nearly 500 more jobs in Wisconsin.

Additive manufacturing, often referred to as 3D printing, is
a new way of making products and components from a digital model, and will have
implications in a wide range of industries including defense, aerospace,
automotive, and metals manufacturing. Like an office printer that puts 2D
digital files on a piece of paper, a 3D printer creates components by
depositing thin layers of material one after another using a digital blueprint
until the exact component required has been created. The Department of Defense envisions
customizing parts on site for operational systems that would otherwise be
expensive to make or ship. The
Department of Energy anticipates that additive processes would be able to save
more than 50 percent energy use compared to today’s "subtractive" manufacturing
processes.

This pilot institute will set a research agenda, driven by
private sector needs. It will encourage researchers and entrepreneurs to take
risks, test prototypes, fail quickly and get back up to try again. This is a
great public-private partnership, with funding from the Federal government, two
states and many manufacturers. The Department is tracking this pilot closely,
to learn how best to help fund and establish these sort of public-private
collaborations all over the country.

In addition to highlighting manufacturing, Blank outlined steps
needed to grow the American economy and create jobs. She focused on the
importance of increasing consumer spending, increasing business investments in
the U.S., and growing U.S. exports. She also highlighted the need for
U.S. investments in infrastructure and education to build an economy to last.

Guest blog post by Dr. Rebecca Blank, Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce

This morning, I joined economic development leaders from around the country to discuss ongoing efforts to create jobs and grow the U.S. economy. The Economic Development Forum was hosted by the U.S. Commerce Department’s SelectUSA initiative, in partnership with the White House Business Council and the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), the world’s largest professional organization of economic development practitioners.

The forum provided an opportunity to discuss the Obama administration’s efforts to support U.S. businesses and encourage companies to bring good jobs back to America, a trend called insourcing.

Both American and international firms are increasingly looking for opportunities to invest in the U.S. And businesses are not only choosing to bring jobs back, but they are also making decisions to expand here instead of shipping jobs overseas. These investments mean that more products will be made in America. That means more jobs and greater economic security for families across this nation.

Travel and
tourism spending by international visitors is helping to boost the U.S.
economy. The U.S. Department of Commerce released data yesterday showing that
international visitors have spent an estimated $82.2 billion on U.S. travel and
tourism-related goods and services year to date, an increase of 11 percent when
compared to the same period last year. Many people do not know that this boosts
exports – when foreign citizens travel to America and buy goods and services
from American companies, that counts as a U.S. export. The new data indicate
that the first half of 2012 set a new record for U.S. travel and tourism
exports, and, if these trends continue, international visitors could end up
injecting close to $170 billion into the U.S. economy by year-end.

These increases help explain why the Obama administration is working hard to
make the United States the top destination for international travelers. The
U.S. Departments of Commerce and Interior are implementing the National Travel and
Tourism Strategy,
which they presented to the President
in May. The
National Strategy is a
blueprint for expanding travel to and within the U.S., setting out the goal of
attracting over 100 million international visitors annually by 2021, more than
a 50 percent increase over the number expected this year. These international
visitors would spend an estimated $250 billion per year, creating jobs and
spurring economic growth in communities across the country.

This
morning, Acting Secretary Rebecca Blank joined U.S. Representatives Chaka Fattah and Allyson
Schwartz on a tour of the job training facilities of Steamfitters Local 420 in
Philadelphia, where classes are held for
apprentices and journeyworkers to develop and improve their skills so they can
better serve clients and become qualified for a broader range of employment
opportunities.

The
rigorous training and education being offered at the facility has made a
difference in the lives of hundreds of people throughout the region. The
steamfitters local union 420 training center services the entire state and the
work being done by members helps keep the region's infrastructure running
smoothly, helping to make southeastern Pennsylvania an attractive place to do
business.

Today's visit was an opportunity for local business leaders,
workers and entrepreneurs to showcase all that they are doing to support
manufacturing, train a 21st century workforce, and help the American economy
recover from the worst recession since the Great Depression.

While there is still more work
to be done, our private sector has now had 29 straight months of job growth,
creating 4.5 million new jobs. Over the past two and one-half years, more than a half-million manufacturing jobs have been created in the U.S.— the strongest
job growth in that sector since the 1990s.

Pennsylvania
alone has gained over 10,000 new manufacturing jobs since January, 2010.
And these manufacturing jobs are good jobs that pay more than average and
provide greater benefits.

During
the visit, Acting Secretary Blank affirmed Commerce’s efforts to build a strong
environment for manufacturing and innovation in the U.S. For example, the
Obama administration recently announced the launch of a new public-private
institute for manufacturing innovation as part of its ongoing efforts to help
revitalize American manufacturing and encourage companies to invest in the
United States. This new partnership, the National Additive Manufacturing
Innovation Institute (NAMII), includes manufacturing firms, universities, community
colleges, and non-profit organizations from the Ohio-Pennsylvania-West Virginia "Tech Belt."

Though
progress has been made, more work remains. This is why the Obama administration continues to call on Congress to pass legislation to give our
companies a tax break if they move operations and jobs back. President
Obama has also called for helping state and local governments hire or retain teachers,
police, and firefighters; and putting construction workers by to work while
repairing crumbling American infrastructure. These proposals would create
a million new jobs, according to independent economists.

After
visiting the steamfitters' training facilities, Acting Secretary Blank traveled
to Allentown, Pennsylvania, to announce
a grant to help local small manufacturers lower operating costs and create
jobs. She was joined by Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski, local business leaders,
and entrepreneurs to highlight Obama administration efforts to help local
companies and workers build things here so they can sell them everywhere.

Today, Acting
Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank joined White House National Economic
Council Director Gene Sperling, Undersecretary of Defense Frank Kendall, and
other Obama administration officials to announce
the launch of a new public-private institute for manufacturing innovation in
Youngstown, Ohio as part of ongoing efforts to help revitalize American
manufacturing and encourage companies to invest in the United States. This new partnership, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute
(NAMII), was selected through a competitive process, led by the Department of
Defense, to award an initial $30 million in federal funding, matched by $40
million from the winning consortium, which includes manufacturing firms,
universities, community colleges, and non-profit organizations from the
Ohio-Pennsylvania-West Virginia "Tech Belt." The institute focuses on additive
manufacturing, often referred to as 3-D printing, which will have
implications in a wide range of industries including defense, aerospace,
automotive, and metals manufacturing. In her remarks, Acting Secretary Blank
discussed the role of American manufacturing in driving economic growth and
creating good jobs in the United States.

Youngstown, Ohio and the surrounding region knows what happens when
manufacturing production declines. But in this area once known as the "rust belt," investments like this new pilot institute demonstrate the
potential within a region to bring together the capabilities of
America’s companies and universities, in partnership with the federal
government, to invest in the cutting-edge technologies and skills our
manufacturers need to compete. With this initiative, Youngstown is
poised to become the epicenter of burgeoning new industries from its
leadership in additive manufacturing or 3-D printing.

Guest blog post by Dr. Rebecca Blank, Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

I just returned from the White House Business Council American Economic Competitiveness Forum on Manufacturing where I had an opportunity to hear from a group of American manufacturers—representing businesses of all sizes from across the country—about how the Obama administration can continue to support them as they build things here and sell them everywhere. As we have seen in recent months, manufacturing is one of the bright spots for our economy. Over the past two and one-half years, more than a half-million manufacturing jobs have been created in the U.S.—the strongest job growth in that sector since the 1990s. In fact, just last month, an additional 25,000 new manufacturing jobs were added.

In terms of production, manufacturing output is up 20 percent since 2009, and increased again in July. One manufacturing sector that has been consistently strong is the motor vehicles and parts industry, which has added 165,000 jobs since June 2009—a sector that might not even exist in the U.S. today if not for the assistance this administration gave to the U.S. auto industry in 2009.

This matters because we know that manufacturing jobs are good jobs that pay more than average and provide greater benefits. They strengthen economic security for middle class families.

There is a powerful link between America’s ability to make things and America’s ability to innovate, compete, and create good jobs. We have come to realize that you can’t separate innovation and production—they have to sit near each other. Manufacturers perform 70 percent of all private sector R&D, investing in and producing technological advances that accounted for 90 percent of U.S. patents. Economic research indicates that innovation—in new products or new processes—was central to three-quarters of the nation’s economic growth since World War II and it is not an accident that the manufacturing sectors where America is most competitive are all advanced manufacturing, where new technologies, new products or new production processes are central to the success of specific firms.

Acting
U.S. Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank announced today that U.S.
merchandise exports totaled a record $773.4 billion in the first six
months of 2012, up by $50.7 billion from the same period of 2011.

“Comprehensive
data from the first half of 2012 demonstrates that exports continue to
be a bright spot for America and that we’re making historic progress
toward the president’s goal of doubling U.S. exports by the end of
2014,” said Acting U.S. Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank. “Despite a
challenging global economy, these numbers show continued global demand
for American goods. While the nation looks to be on track toward
exceeding last year’s goods and services export total of $2.1 trillion,
we are also seeing some individual states outpace the national average
of seven percent growth in merchandise exports. This is good news for
the economy, because we know that increased exports create jobs. The
jump in exports since 2009 has helped the private sector create 4.5
million jobs over the past 29 months, and, in 2011, jobs supported by
exports increased by 1.2 million over 2009. There’s more work to be done
to strengthen the economy and put more Americans back to work, and we
need to continue to do all we can to support American workers, exporters
and businesses so that they can continue to help us rebuild this
economy." Full release

Acting Secretary Rebecca Blank joined business leaders from
across the country earlier this week at the White House Business Council American
Economic Competitiveness Forum on Travel and Tourism to discuss the administration’s actions to help grow travel and tourism and support the
millions of jobs associated with the industry. Travel and tourism is a bright spot for the American economy, leading
the recovery with growth that has outpaced the growth of the overall economy by
almost 800 percent and on pace for another year of record high international
visitors to the U.S.

Since even before the passage of the Travel Promotion Act in
2010, the Administration has been focused on the importance of travel and
tourism. The President recognized the
importance of developing the travel and tourism industry and issued an Executive Order last
January that created a new inter-agency Task Force co-chaired by the
Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior and charged them with developing a
National Travel and Tourism Strategy to increase both domestic and
international travel throughout the United States, with the goal of increasing
the United States’ market share of worldwide travel. The Task Force included
representatives from every agency and department whose mission intersects with
the travel and tourism industry. The Task Force released the National Strategy
in May with an ambitious goal of attracting 100 million international visitors
($250 billion in spending) to the U.S. annually by 2021 -- a 60% increase above
the 62 million international visitors in 2011.

The National Travel and Tourism Strategy laid out a
blueprint for reaching that goal by focusing on five areas:

Promoting the United States

Enabling and enhancing travel and tourism to and within the United States

Acting Secretary Blank continued her trip through Missouri today. She traveled to St. Louis to attend a roundtable breakfast with business owners from a range of industries hosted by Helix Center Biotech Incubator, an innovation facility owned and operated by the St. Louis County Economic Council. She was joined by St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and St. Louis County Executive Charley Dooley.

Acting Secretary Blank wrapped up her trip with a visit to Wilco Molding, Inc. a third-generation family-owned custom plastic injection molder as well as a tool and mold machine shop. There, Dr. Blank was joined by Wilco’s President, Kim Williams, along withDenny Coleman, President & CEO of St. LouisCounty Economic Council, and Tom Dustman, Director of International Sales for Sunnen Products. Acting Secretary Blank reiterated President Obama’s commitment to support manufacturing, to promote U.S. exports, and to encourage American businesses to bring jobs back or to expand operations in America—also known as insourcing She also discussed the importance of building on America’s insourcing trend by bringing more jobs back to states like Missouri. She also highlighted President Obama’s plan, released today, to extend the middle class tax cuts for families making under $250,000. In Missouri, this would help approximately 2.1 million families by preventing a tax increase of about $2,200 for the typical family of four.

During her visits to Missouri manufacturers, Acting Secretary Blank discussed Administration efforts to create good jobs by investing in American manufacturing. The President continues to press Congress to pass legislation that rewards businesses who hire American workers and eliminates tax incentives for companies to ship jobs overseas. The Commerce Department also continues to support the resurgence of American manufacturing and ongoing efforts to provide U.S. companies with the tools and resources they need to sell their products and services in the global marketplace.

Guest
blog by Terry Calaway, President, Johnson County Community College

ED NOTE: With 50,000 students a year enrolled in credit and noncredit classes, Johnson County Community College is the state’s largest institution of higher education. JCCC offers a full range of undergraduate credit courses and 50 career and certificate programs that prepare students for employment. JCCC’s noncredit workforce development program is the largest, most comprehensive in the Kansas City area.

Johnson County Community College (JCCC) in
Overland Park, Kansas, was fortunate to host Acting Secretary of Commerce
Rebecca Blank during her visit to Kansas City July 23. We were honored to show
the Acting Secretary the facility on campus we share with BNSF Railway in a model
partnership of industry and education, one that demonstrates how community
colleges can serve as economic engines for the county.

Because Kansas
City is one of the most important freight transportation hubs in the Midwest,
BNSF is building a 443-acre intermodal facility in the southern part of Johnson
County, Kansas (a Kansas City suburb). The facility will help the region’s
economy grow by shifting more freight traffic from the highway to the rails.
The increasing demand to move more freight by rail coupled with the number of
current rail workers who will be retiring means that freight railroads will
hire more than 15,000 employees this year alone.

JCCC
is prepared for these changes, thanks to a long and beneficial relationship
with BNSF Railway. The college first entered into partnership discussions with BNSF
in 1986. The result is the largest
railroad training facility in the country, founded on the college campus. Originally intended to train only BNSF employees,
the training center over the years has come to serve other railroads as well. As many as 14,000 railroad employees come to JCCC each year for training from the United States
and Mexico.